From Andy Leadbetter, Head of Motor and Home Insurance:

Hi all,

The quotes given through our site are ‘live (i.e. real time) quotes’. That is to say, the information you provide on our site is sent directly to the providers rating engine and the quote price is presented back to you in real time from our providers systems. This should always be the same after ‘clicking through’ to the providers website, subject to any amendment you may make or additional information you need to supply on the providers site– such as additional drivers, no claims protection, endorsements, provision of a courtesy car, legal cover or breakdown cover, etc. Occasionaly, providers pre select ‘add ons’ such as Legal Cover, Courtesy Car, Protected No Claims Discount and Personal Accident cover – what this means is that when you click through to the providers site, they have added these products to your quote even though you haven’t asked for them. Please de-select any ‘add on’ product that you don’t want in order to ensure you receive the quote you requested.

Furthermore, providers constantly update their systems with the latest available insurance data as well as continually manipulating their rates - based on their own mathematical formulas; therefore prices are changing all the time. Moreover, the advanced rating engines which providers use to supply a quote through our site is updated at regular intervals – and this is why a quote for the same car with the same details may be different at different times.

We provide a price comparison based – initially – on the data provided by you plus the detailed assumptions outlined here: http://www.moneysupermarket.com/motor/assumptions.aspx. The price you see after click through should always be the same. Any changes can only be down to additions or amendments to the policy or because the provider still requires further details - not included in the assumptions we make about you.

The obvious question is why can’t we allow a user to input their full details and quote accordingly? The answer is simply that it would take an incredibly long time to return a comparison. Customers would have to complete every possible variation to satisfy the quote criteria - because each provider uses their own complex set of formula based on the particular circumstances of the individual.

We take allegations that a provider has supplied a ‘lead-in’ price very seriously and if an issue is raised we investigate it immediately. Ultimately, If we discover that a provider has supplied a misleading price, we will immediately withdraw the provider from our site. We exert considerable pressure on them to supply accurate quotes and monitor their data throughout the day, every day. Their obligations are outlined in the contract they sign with us.